Saturday, November 29, 2014

JASMINE's THOUGHTS on Constantine Season 1 Episode 6 "The Rage of Caliban"


About the Show
Based on the wildly popular comic book series Hellblazer from DC Comics, seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult John Constantine (Matt Ryan, "Criminal Minds") is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts and a wickedly naughty wit. He fights the good fight - or at least he did. With his soul already damned to hell, he's decided to abandon his campaign against evil until a series of events thrusts him back into the fray, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect the innocent. With the balance of good and evil on the line‎, Constantine will use his skills to travel the country, find the supernatural terrors that threaten our world and send them back where they belong. After that, who knows... maybe there's hope for him and his soul after all.
The cast also includes Harold Perrineau (Lost) as Manny and Charles Halford (True Detective) as Chas.Writer Daniel Cerone (The Mentalist, Dexter) serves as executive producer with David S. Goyer (Man of SteelThe Dark Knight Rises). Constantine is produced from Bonanza Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. The show is based upon characters published by DC Entertainment.
Stay connected with Constantine
Website
      

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Read the recap for Season 1 Episode 5 "The Rage of Caliban"

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*My Thoughts*

I am definitely loving the show! The horror element is definitely a strong presence in each of these episodes. Constantine and Chas is on another case when they checkout the "map"...this time they head to Birmingham, Alabama where there have been deaths of parents and a surviving child. More suspenseful elements are at play in this episode as the possessed child is causing some bloody chaos. However, it was apparent that John has is reservations about this case because of what happened to Astrid. Although I enjoy Manny's "pop in" moments, I would like to see more. Manny has already stated that they can't intervene directly, but they can guide...can it get any more cryptic...sheesh!!??!!


The series is apparently still character building at a steady pace, but it needs to pick up. We get that John is hesitant about this case involving children, because of what happened in his past. I'm really liking how bits and pieces of John's past, like that scene with the paralegal, are worked in to the episode(s) to reveal more about Constantine's history and character. Of course, we can't forget to mention that the intense horror/suspense element is very much strong in this episode.


I definitely want to see more of this series. With that ever-present dread of new shows getting cancelled, I seriously hope that Constantine does not get cancelled. I really would hate to see this series go. There's so much more to this series that still has to be told. It would be such a shame to cancel it. I know I've got my "fingers crossed" that this series gets renewed.

Photo Gallery of "The Rage of Caliban"

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Watch a highlight from this episode of "The Rage of Caliban"

Until the next episode!

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Here's an Episode 7 "Blessed are the Damned" Preview!



Watch Constantine on Fridays at 10/9c on NBC!

BLOG TOUR: The Shape of My Heart by Ann Aguirre


Welcome to my tour stop for the Official Blog Tour for The Shape of My Heart, the third and final book of the 2B Trilogy, by Ann Aguirre!

Genre:
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Series:
2B Trilogy, #3
Publish Date:
November 25, 2014
Publisher:

Synopsis:
Some people wait decades to meet their soul mate. Courtney Kaufman suspects she met hers in high school only to lose him at seventeen. Since then, Courtney's social life has been a series of meaningless encounters, though she's made a few close friends along the way. Especially her roommate Max Cooper, who oozes damaged bad-boy vibes from every pore. 

Max knows about feeling lost and trying to move beyond the pain he's been on his own since he was sixteen. Now it's time to find out if he can ever go home again, and Courtney's the only one he trusts to go with him. But the trip to Providence could change everything because the more time he spends with Courtney, the harder it is to reconcile what he wants and what he thinks he deserves. 

It started out so simple. One misfit helping another. Now Max will do anything to show Courtney that for every heart that's ever been broken, there's another that can make it complete.


      

*Excerpt*
They lowered the coffin and Carol tossed a flower into the grave. As people started to leave, I shifted, wondering if I should suggest… something. But really, Max needed to take the reins and sort out his family business without my intervention. So I kept quiet.
“What’re you doing now?” he asked his brother.
“There’s a potluck at the house,” Michael said. “If you want to come.”
His first reaction came in the form of leaping pleasure shining in his dark eyes, quickly dulled to uncertainty. “I don’t know if—”
“It’s not at Pop’s, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ve been living with Uncle Lou for the last four years.” Though his tone was off-hand, I sensed there was a boatload of a story behind that decision.
“Four years…” Max wore a stunned expression, so much that I put my hand on his arm, steadying him. “All this time, I thought I couldn’t talk to you, see you. Not even to apologize.”
“What?” Michael stared at him, equally flummoxed.
Tell him, I ordered with my eyes. In their shoes, I would’ve had this talk last night, but no, they only blabbed about the bike, apparently. This offer felt akin to falling on a grenade—I disliked their dad that much—but they needed some privacy.
“I’ll get a ride with your uncle,” I said. “Catch you later, Max.”
Before he could argue, I hurried across the grass toward Mr. Cooper’s retreating back. The man beside him must be Uncle Lou; he was both shorter and wider. I caught up with them, out of breath, and nearly tripped over a headstone. Uncle Lou had a kind, jowly face with deep-set eyes with pouches under them. His nose was bulbous, but I could practically taste the kindness in him. He was also older than I’d expected, probably Max and Michael’s great-uncle. Which made the deceased granddad his brother.
“Can I beg a lift? Max and Michael need some time.”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Normally it pissed me off when men immediately defaulted to endearments; with Uncle Lou I didn’t mind. I’d probably even eat a butterscotch if he fished one out of his pocket.
“You go to school with Maxie, do you?”
If anybody heard that nickname when he was a kid, ten to one they called him Maxipad.
I was basically ignoring Mr. Cooper at this point, and he seemed to be returning the favor, walking a bit ahead. So I yielded to the urge to brag about Max. “Yeah. He’s doing really well in engineering, works part-time at a garage on weekends. It’s amazing what he’s achieved completely on his own.”
Mr. Cooper’s shoulders squared. Yeah, I hope you’re listening, asshole. Suck on that.
“I’m so proud of him. Carol tells us what he emails to her, but he has the idea nobody in the family wants to hear from him because of what happened to Mickey. And the nonsense Charlie spouted right after the accident, of course.” Uncle Lou sighed. “But I’m sure you know how stubborn Maxie can be. He gets an idea lodged in his head and nothing short of an earthquake can shake it out.”
“He still blames himself,” I ventured quietly.
“None of us do. I slammed into a parked car once because I dropped a sandwich. Now that’s stupid. I can only imagine how I’d feel if somebody got hurt.”
Mr. Cooper picked up the pace, probably trying to get out of earshot. I watched him go, wondering how he lived with himself. He’d kicked one son out and then couldn’t look after Michael after he got out of the hospital, just went on drinking like it was his reason for living. The whole situation made angrier than I could recall being in my whole life.
Uncle Lou studied my face with the air of an adorable, aging basset hound. “It’s a mess, no two ways around it. But I hope we can clear up the misunderstanding while Maxie’s here.”
“I hope so too.” We were nearly to the car when I gave up and asked the nosiest question of my life. “What, exactly, did Max’s dad say that night at the hospital? I know Max left home right after but—”
“Honey, I think you already know this, but… that story should come from Max. And it’d do him good to get it off his chest. When he’s ready, he’ll tell you himself.”
Maybe, I thought.
And the prospect blazed through me in a shower of joy.




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The 2BTrilogy!
    


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**About the Author**
Author Photo
Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.

Stay connected with Ann Aguirre


   

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***The Giveaway***



Blog Tour Organized by

Friday, November 28, 2014

JASMINE's THOUGHTS on Rush by Eve Silver

Genre:
Young Adult Science Fiction/Fantasy Romance
Action/Adventure
Series:
The Game Series, #1
Publish Date:
June 11, 2013
Publisher:
Katherine Tegen Books

Summary from Goodread:
So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures.

There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.



(U.S. links)
    

(Canada links)
  

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Check out the UK and Australian cover!


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The Game Series:
  


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Watch the Rush book trailer now!


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**About the Author**

Eve Silver lives with her gamer husband and sons, sometimes in Canada, but often in worlds she dreams up. She loves kayaking and sunshine, dogs and desserts, and books, lots and lots of books.

Watch for the first book in Eve's new teen series, The Game: Rush, coming from Katherine Tegen Books, June 2013. She also writes books for adults.

Stay connected with Eve Silver
Website
    

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*My Thoughts*

Note: This review contains NO spoilers

This was definitely an action-packed, adventure-filled, sci-fi experience. From gaming to virtual reality, Rush definitely took me on a "mission". Eve Silver created an otherworldly setting as these characters are "pulled" from their lives to a game-of-survival setting with aliens. With the mysterious introduction of this alien species, it created the suspense for these characters that were randomly, not so random, pulled to "play" this game that is supposed to determine the fate of mankind. 

There is a sense that all these characters are well-versed in the video-gaming world as they use terms that gamers would know and understand. This concept somewhat created that adventure in the story. However, the whole secrecy idea did at some point got really annoying...there's just so much play on words I can take. C'mon! It definitely made the story drag. It even got boring! But, don't let that discourage you from reading this. Of course, from the beginning, it is apparent that there is a budding romance happening. But, where is the challenge if not with a love triangle...hahaha!! If it's executed right...then readers will feel it.

Even after immersing myself in reading this story, entering this "world," this book ends with a cliffhanger!!! Really!!??!! Well, I guess I will have to read the series to get to the conclusion of this adventure...who will survive and who will complete the Game?

Rush is definitely the beginning of a unique story, that interweaves science fiction, gaming, and virtual reality, that those that enjoys this genre will like. 

My rating: